That Tangled Stickery Web 
By Pat Gibson, Feb. 19, 1987
Here above Sulfur Creek, we've caught our share of critters, insects and rashes from plants, but one vine has caught us more often than we care to remember. If you've ever cleared out a stand of trees here in the Hill Country you've undoubtedly encountered blaspheme vine.
Some folks call it catbrier or greenbrier, but I like the name Blaspheme vine. Given the nature of the plants, it is a fitting name. It is a vine that grows to extreme lengths with it has something to grow on. I've seen it down by Barton Creek with stems a quarter inch thick and the end lost in the top of a black walnut tree. All along the stems grow small heart shaped green leaves and strong, sharp thorns.
It's the thorns that earn it its name. Imagine trying to pick grapes with the greenbrier twisted in among the grape vines. It catches on your skin leaving bloody scratches as if you had been arguing with a cat. It plucks at your clothes and pulls threads loose or tears holes. You can't wear a heavy coat in June when the grapes are ready, so you say a few less than polite words, "blaspheme" a bit, or find another grape vine.
All of us have been faced with the job of clearing out a stand of trees or scrub oak. You want the trees to get light and more water so you lay at the undergrowth with your hatchet, ax, mower or hedge clippers. As the vines are cut, they fall on your back or wind up around the tools. You pull at the upper ends of the vines and find them snapping back at your face like it knew what it was doing.
If you are like most folks and waited for the cooler weather to do this hard outside work, you'll be covered up but it's almost as bad as bare skin. The thorns catch in you clothes. Yanking them loose gets you rips and holes in the material. Gently easing them out gets them stuck on your gloves or hand. Again, the choice words that Great-grandma called "blaspheming" are very appropriate right about now.
There are a few good things about blaspheme vine. Now everything has at least one or two. It makes a great deterrent to critters if you can get it to grow as a hedge. Also if you are careful, it can be used to weave through holes in a fence and keep the rabbits out of the garden.
I have also read that it is a great diet food. First of all it is hard work to collect the tender green shoots that are edible. The hard work helps keep the weight down. Secondly, supposedly the tender leaves are very healthy. Now I won't claim that either is true. I have nibbled on a leaf or two and they taste like a green leaf. Whether or not it would help you lose weight, I'll leave that for you to check out.
There are other vines that are very desirable to have around, but that's another story.
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